The present exemplary embodiments relate to printing systems and to techniques and apparatus for increasing depth of focus of an LED printhead. LED arrays and other light sources are commonly used for selective exposure of a photoreceptor belt or drum in xerographic printing systems. Raster Output Scanning (ROS) exposure systems involve rotating polygon mirror assemblies to scan the light output in a cross-process or fast scan direction through an optical system onto the photoreceptor moving along a process direction. ROS systems advantageously use a small number of light sources to scan across the cross-process direction of the photoreceptor, thereby creating images with potentially high dots per inch count, but occupy a large amount of physical space including a fairly large amount of process-direction area proximate the photoreceptor, sometimes referred to as waterfront. Many printing systems employ more than one xerographic imaging station, with a photoreceptor traveling along a path past the imaging stations for sequential transfer of different toner colors, such as cyan (c), magenta (m), yellow (y) and black (k) to build a color image on the photoreceptor prior to image transfer to a printed medium, such as a sheet of paper, after which the transferred image is thermally fused in a fusing station. In certain applications, moreover, it is desirable to provide a further imaging station along the path of the photoreceptor, for example, to add a further color for gamut extension and/or for providing a specific customer-requested Pantone color or for other special-purpose printing capabilities. However, many printing system designs do not accommodate the addition of a fifth ROS type imaging station, largely due to the total space and waterfront considerations. LED printheads may be used in such situations, as they occupy less physical space than ROS type systems. LED printhead assemblies for printbars typically include an LED array with a large number of LEDs corresponding to or exceeding the desired pixel resolution across the cross-process direction, along with a focusing lens. The use of such a print bar to provide a fifth imaging station in a conventional CMYK printing system, however, requires careful tailoring of the focal distance or depth of focus of the focusing lens of the print bar. Accordingly, improved LED printhead apparatus and printing systems are desirable to provide a tailored depth of focus while reducing waterfront and tolerance issues near the photoreceptor.